English Consonants

RESEARCH PAPERS | 23 How Many Consonant Sounds Are There in English? How Many Consonant Sounds Are There in English? by David Deterding, National Institute of Education, Singapore †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Most analyses agree that there are 24 consonant sounds in English. However, it is valuable to consider in some detail a few issues that affect the status of these consonants. First, we can think about why the affricates /t? / and /d / are treated as single consonants rather than sequences of two consonants. Second, one might discuss why it is that /w/ and /j/ are classified as consonants rather than vowels. Third, there is the possibility of a voiceless counterpart of /w/ that, for some speakers, differentiates which from witch. And finally, there is the question of whether the velar nasal /? / is actually an allophone of /n/. After considering these issues, most people will still conclude that there are 24 consonants in English. However, the discussion can help us gain a deeper understanding of English phonology. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. s Introduction How many consonant sounds do you think there are in English? Of course, most of us know that there are 20 consonant letters in our alphabet (or 21 if you include ‘y’), but here we are talking about sounds, not letters. And there is a mismatch between sounds and letters: sometimes two letters combine to represent one sound, so that ‘s’ + ‘h’ combine to represent the sound /? / and ‘t’ + ‘h’ combine for /? /, and sometimes one letter is pronounced as a sequence of two sounds, as ‘x’ is usually /ks/. So the number of consonant letters in our alphabet is irrelevant when considering the number of consonant sounds (phonemes) in English. The basic answer to the original question is that there are 24 consonant sounds in English: q 6 plosives : /p b t d k / q 9 fricatives : /f v ? ? s z ? / q 2 affricates : /t? d / q 3 nasals : /m n ? / q 1 lateral-approximant : /l/ q 3 approximants : /w j r/ However, things are never quite as simple as that in the study of languages, and there are a number of issues that we might consider in more depth: q Why are /t? / and /d / regarded as single phonemes and not as sequences of two phonemes? q Why are /w/ an d /j/ regarded as consonants and not vowels? q Do those people who distinguish which from witch have one extra phoneme, / /, a voiceless equivalent of /w/? q Should /? / really be regarded as a separate phoneme? Or can it be analysed as an allophone of /n/? s The status of /t? / and /d / The two affricates are each written as a sequence of two symbols, so why do we regard them as single consonants? Why do we not, for example, analyse cheese /t? i z/ as having two consonants at the start, /t/ followed by /? /? The answer is that /t? / behaves phonologically as a single sound, even if phonetically it is rather similar to a plosive followed by a fricative. In analysing its behaviour, we need to think about the patterns of distribution of /t/ and /? (Laver, 1994:365), so we should consider what sequences of sounds can occur together, particularly at the start of a syllable. English allows quite complex syllable onsets, such as /str/ in string and /spl/ in splash, but it does not generally permit a plosive followed by a fricative, so */pf k/, */ts? / and */k p/ are not possible words of English. (In the few cases where the spelling does suggest a plosive followed by a fricative at the start of th e word, such as psychology, the plosive is actually silent. ) But note that chip /t / and check /t? ek/ are perfectly good words of English. So if we treated /t? / as a sequence of two phonemes, we would have to make a special exception to the rule that an English word cannot begin with a plosive followed by a fricative. Note that /t? / can also occur at the end of a word, as with catch /k t? / and rich /r? t? /, and there are no other instances where /? / can occur after a plosive at the end of a word, as */k k? / and */r? p? / are not possible words in English. The situation with /d / provides even stronger evidence. The consonant / / is rather rare in English, and apart from in some recent loan words such as genre / ? nr? /, beige /be? /, and rouge /ru / (all of which still sound rather foreign), / / can only occur in the middle of a word, mostly between two vowels, as in pleasure Copyright  © 2005 Singapore Tertiary English Teachers Society1, 2005 STETS Language & Communication Review, Vol. 4, No. (STETS) w 24 | David Deterding s The status of /w/ and /j/ If you say /w/ and drag it out, it sounds rather like /u /, and similarly /j/ sounds rather like /i / (Roach, 2000:64). If they sound like vowels, why do we classify /w/ and /j/ as consonants? Sometimes it is valuable to make a distinction between a contoid and a consonant: contoids are articulated with an obstruction in the vocal tract, but consonants are sounds which can occur at the edge of a syllable (Laver, 1994:147-8). In other words, contoid is a phonetic term which describes the articulation of a sound, while consonant is a phonological term which describes its behaviour within a syllable. From the phonetic perspective of articulation, we find that plosives, fricatives, nasals, and the lateral approximant /l/ are all contoids, because they all involve a constriction in the vocal tract, but /j/ and /w/ (and maybe /r/ as well) are not contoids. But now we should consider phonological behaviour and thereby determine which sounds should be classified as consonants. Let us think about what can occur before /et/ to create a monosyllabic English word. We have words such as bet /bet/, pet /pet/, set /set/, net /net/, and debt /det/, but not */? t/ or */ et/, so we regard /b p s n d/ as consonants because they occur at the edge of a syllable, but /? / are vowels. However, note that we can also have wet /wet/ and yet /jet/. This confirms that /w/ and /j/ are consonants. In one other aspect of behaviour, we can consider the distribution of the indefinite articles a and an: a occurs before consonants, while an occurs before vowels, and this depends on the pronunciation and not the spelling, so it is an hour not *a hour because /a / begins with a vowel (the ‘h’ is silent). But note that we have a waste and a year, not *an waste and *an year, and notice that once more this is based on pronunciation and not on spelling, as it is a university (which begins with /j/) and not *an university. So again we see that /w/ and /j/ behave as consonants, not as vowels (Roach, 2000:64). s The status of /? / In standard phonemic analysis, we assume that if the occurrence of a sound can be predicted from the surrounding sounds, it is regarded as an allophone and not as a phoneme. So, for example, we treat [ ], the dark /l/ sound that occurs at the end of a word such as fill, as an allophone of /l/ because we can specify that it only occurs in the coda of a syllable (or as a syllabic consonant in words such as bottle), unlike its clear counterpart which occurs before a vowel. So what about /? /? Note that /? / can also only appear in the coda of a syllable, and furthermore we can predict that /? / rather than /n/ will always occur before another velar sound, such as in bank /b ? k/ and anger / ? ?/. So should /? / be regarded as an allophone of /n/ (and then be written as [? rather than /? /)? The crucial test for a phoneme is the existence of a minimal pair: if there are two words which only differ with respect to one sound distinction, then we know that we have two separate phonemes. For example, we know that /f/ and /v/ are different phonemes of English because of the existence of the minimal pair fan /f n/ and van /v n/ where the only difference is in the initial consonant, and similarly the difference in the final sound of back /b k/ and bag /b / establishes /k/ and / / as separate phonemes of English. On this basis, we can be confident that /n/ and /? / are different phonemes, because we have many minimal pairs such as sin /s? n/ and sing /s /, and also ran /r n/ and rang /r ? /. This would seem to be the end of the story, but of course it is not. s The possibility of / / Do you make a distinction between which and witch? For most speakers, these two words are homophones as they are both pronounced as /w? t? /, though many Americans do make a distinction (Wells, 1982:126), and most Copyright  © 2005 Singapore Tertiary English Teachers Society (STETS) w w w /ple ? / and measure /me ? /. But notice that jet /d et/ and barge /b? d / are perfectly good words in English. So if we were to regard /d / as a sequence of two separate sounds, we would have to say that / / can only occur near the start or at the end of a word if it is preceded by /d/, which would be rather strange. So the claim that /t? / and /d / are single sounds in English is well-founded, because they behave phonologica lly like single sounds in the structure of English words. However, one might note that Ladefoged (2001:27) does treat both these English affricates as sequences of two sounds, partly because his emphasis is rather more on phonetics than on the phonological structure of English. Scottish speakers also do (Wells, 1982:408). Indeed, it was once normal for all speakers of English to make this distinction, but by the end of the eighteenth century even educated southern speakers no longer maintained it (Mugglestone, 2003:132). For speakers who retain this distinction, it might be necessary to include an extra phoneme, with / / representing the voiceless counterpart of /w/, so that which is / ? ? / while witch is /w? t? / However, even here the analysis is not so simple. Historically, this sound was a consonant cluster /hw/, parallel to other clusters beginning with /h/, such as /hr/, /hn/ and /hl/ (Cruttenden, 2001:215). These others have now disappeared, so apart from the possibility of /hw/, the only remaining consonant cluster involving /h/ is /hj/ in words such as huge /hju d / and human /hju m? n/. And even the status of this is doubtful, as one might alternatively regard /ju / as a diphthong (Deterding, 2004). So, from a historical perspective, / / might be treated as /hw/. But from a synchronic perspective, we should note that the contrast between / / and /w/ is parallel to the contrast between many pairs of consonants in English, such as /t/ and /d/, /s/ and /? /, and /f/ and /v/. The fact that the voiceless/voiced contrast is wellestablished in English lends support to the treatment of / / as a phoneme in its own right. We might therefore conclude that some speakers do have this extra phoneme. w v w v How Many Consonant Sounds Are There in English? | 25 so it’s fun being with them [F9-f:40] In fact, extra velar plosives also occasionally get inserted at the end of words such as selling, studying and young in relatively informal Singapore data (Lim & Deterding, 2005), as shown in the following examples also from the NIECSSE corpus: selling um decorative stuff [iF9-c:83] that I was studying †¦ this [iF9-c:238] when we were young †¦ we used to erm [iF10-e:180] If a velar plosive gets inserted occasionally after /? /, maybe we should analyse it as present in the underlying representation of the word, and then instead of saying that it sometimes gets inserted, we should state that it sometimes fails to get deleted. And if this is the case, s Conclusion It is still basically true that there are 24 consonants in English, though it may under some circumstances be possible to regard /t? / and /d / as sequences of two sounds, some speakers may have an extra phoneme / /, and the status of /? / is questionable. Even though we can conclude that there are 24 consonants in English, consideration of some of the issues regarding the phonological analysis of English can give us a deeper understanding of he structure of the sound system of the language. STETS Language & Communication Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005 w v v An alternative possibility is to say that words like sing have a silent / / at the end, and this silent / / gets deleted when it occurs at the end of a word (Roach, 2000:68). In fact, for some speakers of English, this deletion rule does not apply and sing is pronounced as [s ] (Roach, 2000:67), so clearly for speakers such as this, we should analyse [? ] as an allophone of /n/. Furthermore, in careful pronunciation, some speakers insert a velar plosive at the end of words such as being, and this can occur in Singapore English (Setter & Deterding, 2003) as is evident from the following utterance from the NIECSSE corpus (Deterding & Low, 2001): then the distribution of [? ] is entirely predictable, so it is an allophone and not a phoneme. Finally we might note that words such as long /l /, strong /str / and young /j ? / have no final / /, but there is a / / when a comparative suffix is added: longer /l ?/, stronger /str ?/, younger /j ? ?/. So this seems to lend further support to the possible existence in the base form of these words of a final / / which gets deleted in some circumstances. (But note that there is no / / with the –ing suffix or the agentive –er suffix: singing /s / and singer /s /; not */s / and */s ?/. ) In conclusion, we can say that, on the basis of minimal pairs, /? / is generally regarded as a phoneme of English, but that there are some counter-arguments which raise a few questions about its status. 26 | David Deterding REFERENCES Deterding, D. (2004). How many vowel sounds are there in English? STETS Language & Communication Review, 19(10): 19-21. Deterding, D. & Low, E. L. (2001). The NIE corpus of spoken Singapore English (NIECSSE). SAAL Quarterly, 56: 2–5. Ladefoged, P. (2001). A course in phonetics (4th edition). Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers. Laver, J. (1994). Principles of phonetics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lim, S. H. & Deterding, D. (2005). Added final plosives in Singapore English. In D. Deterding, A. Brown and E. L. Low (Eds. ), English in Singapore: Phonetic research on a corpus, pp. 37-42. Singapore: McGraw Hill. Mugglestone, L. 2003). ‘Talking proper’: The rise of accent as a social symbol (2nd edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Roach, P. (2000). English phonetics and phonology: A practical course (3rd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Setter, J. & Deterding, D. (2003, August). Extra final consonants in the English of Hong Kong and Singapore. Paper presented at the International Conference of Ph onetic Sciences, Barcelona. Wells, J. (1982). Accents of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Copyright  © 2005 Singapore Tertiary English Teachers Society (STETS)

Bullying In Schools Essay

A huge problem seems to be taking over our schools these days. Bullying has become a major issue in our schools and should be a problem taken very seriously. Parents need to take action in putting a stop to their children harming others. Teachers also should be aware of what is going on in their schools and take immediate action before something terrible occurs. Bullying is when someone intentionally brings harm to someone else. It comes in forms of physically harming another person or mentally harming them. Bullying is not based on one single incident but reoccurring incidents. It can be brought on by one single person or even a group of people targeting an individual . Bullying is usually an unfair fight where the person doing the bullying has an advantage over the one being bullied. Teaching our children empathy at an early age is a vital piece to their lives. â€Å"Without empathy; we would have no cohesive society, no trust and no reason not to murder, cheat, steal or lie. At best we would only act out of self-interest; at worst, we would be a collection of sociopaths†(Szalavitz). This advice is so true because the way we teach and treat our children will ultimately be the way they treat others as they get older. Spending quality time and giving lots of positive attention to our children will help them grow and develop positive social skills. It is very sad to sit and watch the news or read the paper and see that there are young people committing suicide over being bullied at school. These children should not see ending their life as a solution to any problem. Teachers and parents should be doing everything in their power to put a stop to bullying in schools. If a child is bringing that much harm to another child they should be expelled. Maybe then their parents will realize how serious the problem is and do something to help their child before it’s too late. School is a place to learn and develop as people in society. Children should not have to feel threatened but feel safe in school. Teachers, school staff, and parents definitely need to be aware of everything that goes on with  these children in order to teach them the right ways to deal with problems. After all they are going to be harder to control the older they get.

Outliers: The Story to Sucess Essay

Outliers: The Story of Success is a book that examines the qualities and experiences of successful people in order to provide a blueprint for nurturing the human potential. According to the author, Malcolm Gladwell, human potential is not something one is born with but something that has to be shaped throughout one’s life course. Contrary to popular belief, having a high IQ or a lucky break are good opportunities to have, however, they do not contribute to an individual’s success alone. Gladwell realized that it took a combination of biological, personal, social, and environmental factors to help an individual reach their full potential. Examples of those factors that influence one’s success include timing of birth, area where one lives, family history, and culture. These factors make up concepts that Gladwell described as practical intelligence, social savvy, natural growth, and natural advantage. In addition to these factors, he discussed how anyone can succeed if they were willing to practice and work hard. He demonstrated this theory by researching the different stories of successful people and he found a common denominator, long hours of professional practice. He referred to this as the â€Å"10,000 Hour Rule. He mentioned that it took 10,000 hours or approximately 10 years of practice to perfect a professional trade. Outliers are successful people that are not your ordinary individual. However, the distinction of a true outlier can be attributed from the author’s recipe of success: the right combination of the different factors, practice, and hard work. Gladwell knew that IQ was not the sole determinant of success. So he developed other concepts based on family circumstances that included the time period of birth and child rearing, as well as, one’s acquired knowledge through education. Robert Sternberg described practical intelligence as a procedural method of knowledge that helps one know how, when, and what to say to whom to get what they desired. Gladwell looked at the life’s courses of successful people and found that many sports players born at a certain time of year were more likely to be selected for professional hockey or soccer teams. He discovered that they had more time to practice and become  better at playing these sports before the team’s selection process. He also looked at the time period at which one was born such as Bill Joy or Bill Gates, to show how they were born at the perfect time to refine a skill and change the world when the opportunity presented itself later in life. These examples show that each of these people acquired the proper skills from lots of hard work and long hours of practice; nonetheless, they were also at the right place at the right time, which were made possible through family circumstances. Social savvy is another process of acquiring knowledge that includes a collection of skills that had to be learned. These skills and attitudes are usually passed down through family generations and the chances of success are strongly influenced by their cultural legacy. Annette Laureate was a sociologist who best explained this concept after studying a group of black and white 3rd graders from different socioeconomic statuses. She discovered that the socioeconomic status played a major role in children developing social savvy skills. However, the two parenting style â€Å"philosophies† were divided along class lines. Wealthy and middle-class parents supported their children and encouraged them to pursue goals. Wealthy children’s parents tended to be very involved in their child’s life and their schedules were filled with numerous activities. Middle-class parents used reasoning with their children to teach their children how to talk, negotiate, and question authority figures to obtain more information. This parenting style was called â€Å"concerted cultivation† because it nurtured and evaluated a child’s opinions, talents, and skills. Whereas, poor parents had a different strategy of raising their children, that is referred to as natural growth. Natural growth is the parent’s sole responsibility of caring for their children but letting the child develop and grow on their own. Neither method is ethically better than the other but the concerted cultivation demonstrated more natural advantages. Comparing Chris Langham, the smartest person in the world, and Robert Oppenheimer, one of the wealthiest lawyers in world, we learned that the cultural advantages of the wealthier families made a significant difference in how one is able to navigate throughout life. Although the poor children were independent and creative, later on in life they were not able to customize their desired path because they  distrusted authority and lacked the knowledge that taught them how to make a lasting first impression. These concepts proved that being an outlier is not just about luck but a combination of IQ, acquired knowledge from education and ideal circumstances generated by family. In 1994, David Leven and Michael Feinberg founded KIPP, Knowledge is Power Program, Academy in New York City for underprivileged children. The school’s concept is remotely based on one of Gladwell’s main points, the importance of cultural legacy. This experimental middle school choose their students through a lottery system and the students spent long hours each day learning about respect and different school subjects. This social initiative has been compared to other foreign countries’ schooling, because it supported another one of Gladwell’s points that hard work and lots of practice matters in success. Gladwell mentioned that practical intelligence or social savvy skills were usually acquired from one’s family, but KIPP Academy taught these skills at school. Therefore, many of the children went on to be successful because they have learned the tools to ensure life achievement. As mentioned earlier, socioeconomic status was one of the factors that contributed to one’s accomplishments, however, this school’s mission proved that regardless of a child’s family background, the child can still succeed if given the structure and opportunity. Daisy Nation and her husband were hard working schoolteachers who provided a foundation for the success of their children and their grandchildren. Both of their twin daughters, Faith and Joyce, were able to reap the benefits of their labor and achieve higher education. Faith was given several scholarships but Joyce was not always that lucky. However, Daisy always looked out for both daughters and sent them to schools believing that the funds for their educations would be come unexpectedly. Joyce went to France for school where she met her husband, Graham, and in this union Malcolm Gladwell, the author of this book, was born. Gladwell was indeed an outlier; however, he remained humble in knowing that he was not self-made but the product of his family and the concepts he mentioned in his book. His IQ, practical knowledge, and social savvy all played a role in his success. This book was very inspirational to me because it helped me to understand my past, present, and future success. I was not raised in a wealthy family, attended what is considered to be the best schools or even considered the smartest person in my classes, but I have had impeccable timing and great drive to pursue goals when educational and professional opportunities presented themselves. In my past, the life lessons and values from my parents created common sense. My DNA and pursuit of higher education generated book sense. With both set of skills, I have had many memorable experiences and I obtained a substantial amount of knowledge that has brought me thus far and will take me further than my high IQ or any lucky break could have taken me alone. This thought-provoking text demonstrated that I did not have to be wealthiest or have the highest test score, but solely needed the concepts of knowledge and practice to meet the success threshold. This book has also helped me to understand what I need to do presently in order to be a Public Health and Social Work expert. I lack the direct practice that is needed to reach the expertise level; however, I am willing to work hard and long to be successful in understanding individuals to produce changes in a population of individuals. Our society needs more individuals who have found their niche and used it for the advancement of the general public. The level of training and knowledge in public health is ever-changing and will require hard work and practice to be effective. I am an African American woman who has continued to beat the odds regardless of what some have predicted or desired for my life. At times, I feel as if they are right, but I remember the words of a wise man, â€Å"God doesn’t expect you to always be the best, He just expects you to do your best.† Therefore, I use negativity as my motivation to keep striving and utilize my skills to make a change one step, one day at a time.

Balancing Executive Development Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Balancing Executive Development - Coursework Example Boral Approach to Executive Development is a one of its kind program that has all the necessary elements that can make any program successful. Not only does it induce self-directed learning but also links performance to tangible results. It also allows for application of learning to real business cases and hence reinforces whatever learning is acquired during the course of the program. Some recommendations that can help Boral HRD practitioners make this program even more beneficial for their organization are listed below: 1. Currently this program is only for senior level executives who have achieved some recognition in the organization already through their hard work and capability. Boral can initiate such a program for middle and lower level managers and employees as well, so that they can develop technical, conceptual and social skills appropriate for their managerial level. 2. Boral can also take input from participants in order to make this program even more successful. Suggestions can be rated according to their impact on program and originality and the best one can then be incorporated into the executive development program. 3. Technology can be used to facilitate distance learning. Currently participants are expected to gather at a common place and take classes where it is convenient for all. If the scope of this program is extended then it will be beneficial to use video conferencing and other such tools to allow employees in remote locations to benefit from such a program. 4. In order to support ongoing learning in the workplace, Boral should seek assistance from higher institutions for vocational education and with universities. 5. Boral HRD practitioners should participate in professional associations and form networks with HRD practitioners of other organizations in order to keep themselves updated with respect to changing workforce development needs. 1 Introduction Learning has become, and will remain, an important issue for humans, as more and more nations now look towards evolving into "learning societies". Work organizations are becoming important

Situated Learning and Social Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Situated Learning and Social Learning - Essay Example He realizes that learning is more effective when done in a group, especially when the learner gets hand-on experience. In the classroom, the student is made to learn abstract things which he may not relate to real life. . The student is presented with cold, uninspiring facts packaged in glossy books, beautiful classrooms and scientific rules. The result is, the student no longer enjoys the poetry he reads nor does any value learning take place from the other classes he attends, except dry jargon and clichs. Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, in their book, "Situated Learning : Legitimate Peripheral Participation," make a strong case for Situated learning with its emphasis on the contextual setting and .social interaction. While people learn things easily and faster under the conditions of legitimate peripheral participation (LPP), it has some major drawbacks such as the model exerting subtle influence on the learners, so that they learn socially unacceptable behaviour like aggression . According to Lave and Wenger. Legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) occurs when the learner begins to move from the periphery of the community to its center. Social interaction is of paramount importance in situated learning, with learners becoming involved in "community practice". Situated learning, according to the authors, is mostly unintentional, as opposed to deliberate learning. We see examples of situated learning in the case of pre-schoolers, who learn to recite nursery rhymes or tell stories, seeing their peers do the same .Situated learning happens when a visitor to a country learns its language entirely by interacting with the local people. Situated learning has other proponents such as Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) who propose the idea of "cognitive apprenticeship". According to Schoenfeld, mathematical problem solving is also a form of situated learning. As all mathematics teachers know, when the students are encouraged to think of mathematics is everyday life context, they learn better and the mathematical problems are solved faster. Children seem to understand mathematics better when they relate it to real life situations and solve it in a group.(Schoenfeld) A requirement of situated learning is that knowledge should be presented in situations where the knowledge would apply. For instance, in a lesson on friction in physics, the learner would understand the concept better when he or she is made to experience the friction between a nut and bolt when they are not oiled, and when they are oiled. An apprentice nurse would learn how to lift the patient better by doing it in the hospital than by reading about it in the classroom. Similarly, an apprentice mechanic learns how to repair your car by hands on experience A visitor in France would quickly learn French as well as the typical gestures of the French people. Situated learning happens when a child learns its mother tongue easily. The same child finds it difficult to learn a foreign language at school . According to William P. Hanks, situated learning "takes as its focus the relationship between learning and the social situation in which it

Evaluating an International Human Resource Strategy (Sarun) Essay

Evaluating an International Human Resource Strategy (Sarun) - Essay Example The report mentions PESTLE analysis, necessary to understand how and why they shape their HRM strategy in India. The report also looks into evaluating the main HRM models that are relevant to the recognized economic drivers for Starbucks. It studies how the interim strategy is benefiting the employees and helping them achieve their career goals. The HRM report also covers an analysis of different approaches of HRM globally and that are actually used at Starbucks and how they can be modified in India. The links identified between the business strategy and the interim strategy are crucial to the differences between international and local policies. The report of Starbucks and corporate also covers the successful impact of HRM policy on overall organizational performance. A section is specifically assigned towards recognizing the employee involvement and participation in how this creates a healthier work environment. The report also looks into the reward system as how Starbucks Corporat ion encourages their workforce to achieve better results. And finally based on the discussion from the literature and the practical examples of HRM in the Starbucks Corporation suggestions are given that will help improve the HRM strategy for their joint venture in India. Starbucks Corporation was established in 1971 Seattle, Washington. It grew to 55 stores in 1989 and today it has over 19,767 stores all over the world (Starbucks Company Profile, 2013). It started its overseas operations in 1996, starting from Tokyo (Bussing-Burks, 2009). The main products sold at the outlets include; ready-made coffee, whole coffee beans, beverages, pastries and other coffee related retail items. Starbucks Corporation belongs to the disposable income industry of food and beverages. Since 1990s the industry has seen tremendous growth, this also brings a lot of competition for Starbucks.

Policing and Crime Reduction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Policing and Crime Reduction - Essay Example It became necessary for the police force to use criminal intelligence the crime analysts to find out the criminals and all information about them to solve the problem. Both the models have got its own distinctive features and the present essay is intended to analyse these features in an effort to see whether both the models are compatible with each other. There was wide spread criticism of the way of policing adopted through 1970's to 1980. During this period policing was more concentrated on crimes and paid little attention to the problems that created a situation for such cases. Their activities were mainly divided into two. Preventive patrol and patrol in response to emergency calls. These activities could not bring crime control. Police was using random patrol, follow up of criminal investigations and sudden actions as the basis of their investigation. It was found that such a system was less efficient because there were many community problems, which did not have a criminal background and arrests and prosecutions did not solve most of the problems. The number of arrests did not increase as the crime increased, mainly because of the lack of infrastructure to keep and prosecute these people. Moreover, it was felt that most of the community problems without a criminal nature could be solved without any arrest through mere police in volvement to address those problems. According to Goldstein, the police were more concentrated on their own internal politics and management and they were little concerned about their actual duties (Goldstein, 1979). He initiated a change in the usual policing by urging them to concentrate on the problems that lead to most of the crimes and to solve these problems so as to take out crime from its roots. He called it problem-oriented policing and this drive was internationally accepted and has been very effective in crime control (Weisburd et. al., 2007). Problem oriented policing involves analysis of similar incidents by the crime analysts as well as experienced police officials in a effort to understand something new from these problems so as to device strategy to deal with those problems (Weisburd et. al., 2007). The system has a preventive nature, which incorporates the use of public and private agencies and community for crime reduction or its prevention. Once a strategy is developed it would be implemented and evaluated and this would be reported so that it would form the basis for developing a pool of knowledge that would help police in their profession (Goldstein, 2001). So there would not be any secrecy in dealing with each and every case. The problems would be openly discussed and the strategy developed would be published in the community. Cooperation of community and other government agencies were sought to implement strategies and to solve the problems so as to reduce incidents of crimes. Based on this idea Eck And Spelman (1987) developed SARA model of problem oriented policing. SARA denoted four steps in its operation namely, Scanning, Analysis, Response and Assessment. Scanning in the process in which police identify problems in their area that are leading to crimes. The next step "Analysis" involves, analysis of these problems so

Managerial Accounting Final Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managerial Accounting Final Report - Essay Example This paper offers managerial accounting report based on an entity’s costing accounting data and recommends improvements to the firm. The scope of management accounting incorporates financial accounting concepts, cost accounting concepts, and statistical concepts to develop an understanding of a business environment towards informed managerial decisions. Cost accounting offers data on costs and facilitates analysis for cost control or cost based decisions (Bhattacharyya 2). The management approach’s ability to use existing data for forecasting and planning identifies its significance to management because it aids strategy developments for market dynamism (Mitra 1-27). Incorporation of statistical tools in the management approach also empowers it to determine informed choices for efficient operations because the techniques allows managements to compare environmental factors in a market and to identify the most suitable applications that can guarantee market control and ef ficient and effective operational processes. The report relies on these aspects to review the firm’s cost and processes (Thukaram 5). ... This paper applies a case study to demonstrate application of managerial accounting concepts in resolving problems. The report is based on SSI case study. The firm is a meat, burger, and chicken processing plant in Idaho, United States. Its executive group has learnt that their leading clients are not satisfied with the firm’s pricing and they are considering contacts with SSI’s competitors, arguing that the firm’s prices are too high. Other clients are however happy with the organization because it offers the cheapest prices in the locality. This controversy in opinion among clients identifies pricing as a problem that should be explored for possible reconciliation with the discontent clients. The problem identifies the need to explore following research questions. What are the recommended cost savings that will help SSI increase its profits? Is the organization pricing its products efficiently? Method The report is based on a case study on SSI firm that offers six distinct products to six different clients. Data was collected from published information on the organization’s accounting and managerial records regarding involved production activities and their costs. The data was then analyzed, objectively, to understand the firms costing and pricing. Results The organization produces six types of meats for retail sales. It operates two sessions per day with each session lasting for eight hours and pays direct labor costs per hour. The operations involve six different set ups per day. Each set up produces each product and clean up and adjustments for each product specification precede each set up. The following table summarizes SSI’s daily schedule for the production and set up processes in their order of production. Table 1: Daily

Managing change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Managing change - Essay Example Among these businesses, there are oil fields in different countries globally, wind power production plants, and natural gas processing plants. The corporation’s business fell under the threat of diminishing levels of performance following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill three years ago (Freudenburg & Gramling, 2011). The following discussion establishes the prevailing changes in concern to the factors of production, and the relationship with the company and the global society. Analytical discussion to the causes of oil spill change Following the 2010 oil spill, British Petroleum Company established that the situation affected the broad global society from the locals that depended on the seafood as a source of livelihood to the end consumer of BP’s petroleum products. The company lacked credibility from the society as the spill caused havoc to the environment and led to destruction of natural resources (Druskat and Wolff, 2001:45). For example, the spill led to deaths of ov er ten employees, and harbored fishing as it considerably led to the death of fish and other sea organisms that remained integral to the society’s benefits. The spill affected the ecosystem and postulated remorse from the diverse human society. Therefore, BP’s management established that the ideal resolution to the increased aggression of the society because of the company’s accident would be the implementation of policies that would reshape the organization’s image towards the general environment. Precisely, the corporation established the changes as achievable through rendering and delivering support from people within the system (Gido & Clements, 2012). British Petroleum Company established that the business programs were undergoing diminishing levels of performance thus denoting the need for strategic resolution to ensure growth to the desired extend. The valuable approaches that the management resolves to use and establish the corporation’s pe rceived current state of business (Fisher, Hunter and Macrosson, 1998:35). With the increased remorse and decreased customer loyalty, the corporation analytically established change as a precise role of targeting ascertainment of the objectives. Initially, the corporation had competitively preserved a profitable market share ahead of other competitors including Royal Dutch Company, Shell, and Exxon Company. However, through enlightening of the global society into adapting environmentally friendly matters, the company fell under a situation of diminishing performances as the loyalty for its business undertakings dwindled accordingly following the oil spill. Arguably, the company resolved to develop a precise plan that would steer acquisition of the set recovery measures. Further, changes were set to recuperate the damages following the loss of the $560 million oil rig that drained the company’s capital base after environmental concerns raised and the company resulted to inject billions of dollars to the cleaning exercise. The changes deferred the company’s profitability forecasts following the capital deviation to budget for the cleaning exercise of the ocean rather than production of the oil to reach the end consumer profitably. British Petroleum Company became a victim to the environmental measures and the abiding fines after they deceived the authorities that the situation was under control, but failed to accomplish the promise (World Bank, 2012). United States of America

Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Essays - Essay Example A "hit" occurs when the new information presents a match with the data already entered into the database. Maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IAFIS is the acronym for The Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. It is the biggest biometric database in the world. It is used by all jurisdictions which is a tremendous help in identifying suspects at crime scenes. In addition to fingerprints is also houses a criminal history database. The IAFIS provides "automated fingerprint search capabilities, latent searching capability, electronic image storage, and electronic exchange of fingerprints and responses, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year". (United States Department of Justice-Federal Bureau of Investigation) CODIS is the acronym for the Combined DNA Index System. It is responsible for exchanging and comparing DNA evidence in violent crime scene investigations by and between crime labs within the United States and several international law enforcement agencies. A. Step One - Planning and Direction. The intelligence/analytical process begins and must be run from identifying the main focus of the intelligence. It is responsible for delivering the final product to the law enforcement unit that is requesting it.

Wgs10 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Wgs10 2 - Coursework Example With the rising technology and demand for new weapons, women have secured positions in the weapon industries and also control rooms. Despite women joining the military in respective fields, they have faced several challenges which deprive them their basic rights. For instance, the women serving the military overseas either working in clubs or massage parlors, they are at risk of being abused sexually or even being infected with STIs (Vigil 473). These risks and enormous challenges they face while serving in the military, leaves a lot of questions on whether their basic rights are being preserved or is really humanity towards their rights being observed? These challenges the women face while in the war fronts and in the military base, majority of them go unreported (Vigil 466). The case for militarized prostitution which is very rampant in the overseas scenario, may end up being unrecognized by the human rights watch. After the September 11, 2001 terror attack in the U.S, more military actions were taken a step which saw more demand of extra workforce. In the Iraq war which U.S had participated fully, saw relocation of a good number of its military to Iraq. This step by the then president, George Bush was highly condemned in the streets as even women matched ahead and demanding their sons back. This was a step to ensure peace in their country and safety for everybody (Vigil 475). Women serving in the military are exposed to very many risks which deprive them their basic rights. They always stand high chances of being misused and abused either physically or sexually. This is very wrong for them and it is not right for them to be in the military bases and war fronts. More young men should be trained to replace them and the

Fast Food Essay Example for Free

Fast Food Essay The fast food industry has been growing more and more every year. There is a fast food restaurant in every corner. Since fast food is becoming so popular more and more people chose to go to a fast food restaurant daily. Fast food is a continuing growth industry in our country. Fast food restaurants continue to increase their popularity by lowering their prices and providing faster service for their customers. There is a huge competition between fast food restaurants and how they advertise can effect the business. There are many reasons as to why fast food has become so popular. One of the main causes is the simplest of them all, laziness. One of the main causes for the popularity of fast food is advertisement. There are fast food restaurants being advertised of billboards, at some schools, on the internet, and on television. Most fast food advertisements are directed to young people because they are easily persuaded. According to Haugen, young people in America are bombarded with advertising every day. A young person does not usually think of their health or other important factors that could become of eating fast food constantly, they just think that it’s what they want because they saw it on the television. Haugen states, â€Å"Marketers reach them through commercials on television and also through ads in magazines, on billboards, on the internet and even in the bathroom stalls at school† (Haugen 2008). It seems that there is no escape from fast food marketing for children. It is everywhere they turn. It is sad that advertisement companies have found so many ways to get to children to make them want to consume their product because for most of them it results in obesity. One of the most successful advertisement products comes with the kid’s meal, the toy. Many children insist on their parents buying them that meal, from that particular fast food restaurant, because they want the toy that comes with the kid’s meal. Since fast food has become so popular it has resulted in obesity for many children. The children are drawn to the fast food because of the toys that come with the meal and how it is advertised to be more appealing to children. Since the effect of fast food on children has been so drastic many fast food restaurants now have healthy choice kid meals that come with a toy as well. This could be a great alternative to help children eat healthy. Since many people have such demanding schedules they resort to fast food. According to Simplicity of Thinking, the main cause for the current expanding of fast food restaurants is that they fit with the needed speed of living everywhere (SOT 2011). This means that with an individuals busy schedule they do not have enough time to prepare a meal in the morning so they resort to fast food. An example given states that throughout the day an individual may sometimes resort to fast food more than once in order to make their life easier. Fast food makes it possible to eat on the go and live life uninterrupted. According to Think Free, since the popularity of fast food has grown people have become addicted to fast food. Eating fast food develops the habit and addiction to this kind of food (Rokotmivo 2009). the secret recipes of fast food restaurants have hidden components, regardless if they are healthy of not, they are always included in the meal. This is what makes each fast food restaurant distinct from another and makes you want to return to that same one to get that same taste that you have become addicted to. For example, getting a cheeseburger from Burger King will taste different than ordering a cheeseburger from Carls Jr. even if it is ordered with the exact same condiments. This is because of the secret ingredient that each burger has that sets it apart from other fast food restaurants. When people are addicted to fast food they will find natural and typical food less delicious and no longer satisfies their needs. Having fast food be an easy resort to cooking a meal and taking someones time away from them it has caused it to become more popular and has still effected many people in having a poor diet. Fast food is not just convenient it is also inexpensive. According to Food for Thought, a new national study of eating out and income shows that fast food dining has become more popular with lower income families (FFT 2002). Fast food has become more popular with those of lower income families. With the specials and the great deals like the dollar menu it is less expensive than preparing a meal for some families. This results in more people going to fast food restaurants. If some fruit at a grocery store costs a dollar or sometimes maybe more, people would rather go to a fast food restaurant and get something more filling like a cheeseburger off of the dollar menu. With the economy so bad it is easy to see why many people resort to fast food over going to the grocery store. It is not only easier but in some cases it is less expensive. One of the main causes for the popularity of fast food is that people are simply lazy. It is true that many people havve the time and the means to cook a decent meal for themselves or their family but they resort to fast food simply because it is an easy alternative. Why is there a need to cook when it would be faster to just go to a fast food restaurant since there is one at almost every corner and order something. The lazy factor of many people has resulted in obesity. Fast food also makes a persons body want to be less inactive. After eating something from McDonald’s an individual would most likely want to take a nap or just relax and watch a movie. The effect that fast food has on the body is never good, whether its laziness or obesity. In conclusion, the cause of the popularity of fast food is great advertisement, its easy and fast, and people are lazy. The effects of fast food has resulted in it being everywhere, whether its advertised on television, on billboards, or in schools, and found on every corner. Fast food has led to many people being obese and addicted to the unhealthy choices they offer. The more popular fast food has gotten the more fast food restaurants are being built to reach the demands of society. Fast food for some people can rule their lives.

Market Analysis for 3D Printer

Market Analysis for 3D Printer Market Analysis Target Market 3-D printing is the process of creating three-dimensional solid objects from digital models. Our 3D printer specializes in manufacturing circuit motherboards and chips. In general all technology-based industries are our target market. Our prime target market is computer companies like Apple, Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc. and Smart phone companies like Blackberry, Samsung, Apple, Nokia, LG, etc. Hence there is a wide market demand for 3D printers due to its unique features. Motherboards and circuit chips are essential for the design of most technology-based instruments. Industries designing and involved in systems engineering of these instruments acquire them from various companies. Foxconn, Gigabyte Technology, Gumstix, IBM and Intel are some of the market leaders in the motherboard and Integrated circuit chips manufacturing business. Support services The circuit models to be printed generally need to be in a format supported by the printer. Formats such as layouts from AWR design environment and Simulink are currently the two formats being supported by the printer. The two are the most popular design environments for contemporary engineers. The design engineers of the customer company will be provided will all the necessary support. Support will be provided in the following ways: Training sessions for design engineers to convert to supported circuit layout format Training on general maintenance of printer Free layout conversion support for the first six months for for formats different from AWR and Simulink Provide specialized design engineers for companies Market growth 3D printers are quite novel. The current businesses based on 3D printing have blossomed, such as Shapeways. They have uploaded around 100, 000 new products for printing every month in 2013. http://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/2394-2013-shapeways-3d-printing-year-in-review.html The growth of the use of 3D printing can also be noted from exponential upward increase in number of 3D printable items in Thingiverse, which is an open-source design repository. Figure 1 is the outcome of the analysis achieved by a partnership of the Economist and IBM Figure 1: Growth of open-source design repositories http://on3dprinting.com/tag/industry/ The statistics discussed above clearly portray the rapid growth in use of 3D printers in general. Market Trend Many major companies currently are using 3D printers. Some of them include Boeing, Ford, Nike, General electric and Cochlear. Boeing for example uses them for making airline parts. The 787 Dreamliner has around 30 3D printed parts. http://www.techrepublic.com/article/3d-printing-10-companies-using-it-in-ground-breaking-ways/ These examples portray the trend in shifting to 3D printing instead of traditional manufacturing techniques. Due to the rapid development in 3D printing, the technology is expected to mature in the coming years into a cost effective approach for electronics industry. Market evolution As it can be seen from the market trend section, many companies are now using 3D printers for manufacturing. The market is expected to evolve dramatically if the cost of mass production can be somehow reduced. Some of 3D printers advantages: It will be faster and cheaper than the usual prototyping methods. Its Greater ability to customize products. It will be able to perform at uni-stage process, which saves the cost of tools. It will help in producing motherboards and circuit chips which more easily than traditional methods of manufacturing them. Competitor reaction The metals 3-D printing space: 3D Systems Corp., ExOne Co., and Arcam:Some companies which use 3-D printing systems that can print in metals are 3D Systems Corp, ExOne and Arcam. ExOne offers sytems which will be able to print in metals, sand, glass. Companies like this will be able to produce 3D printed motherboards and circuit chips when they see our product, since they are already capable in producing in metals. High completion between these companies will cause the cost of the 3D circuit chips and motherboards to fall. Since Smart phones and computers will benefit highly from the 3D motherboards and circuit chips, Smart phone and computer companies might even subsidies companies producing 3D circuit chips and motherboards. Business plan template:http://www.business.gov.au/Howtoguides/Thinkingofstartingabusiness/Whatplanningtoolscanhelpme/Pages/Businessplanguidesandtemplates.aspx Marketing Plan Product Our product is a novel 3d printing technology that prints Motherboards and Integrated circuits. Next dimension’s 3d printers can be used for manufacturing and also prototyping. Design engineers can simulate the circuit models and generate circuit layouts. These layouts can then be used to print out the circuit directly. The printed circuits can be used tested for different required specifications. Pricing strategy The pricing strategy involved thorough analysis of the present 3D printer market. Although our product is a novel 3D printer, we strive to offer the best value for money for our printer. Potential competitors such as Stratasys have printers ranging from $15, 000 to $75, 000. Production printers provided by them are $50, 000 and above. Our printers will cost $42, 000 and provide the exceptional novel technology of printing Integrated Circuit chips and Motherboards. http://www.stratasys.com/resources/~/media/970DE4A9F3134110817C731796C5CA5E.pdf Advertising promotional strategy Planned promotion /advertising type Expected business improvement Cost ($) Online Advertising Online advertising allows more customers worldwide to know about the product compared to traditional advertising. Internet advertising is ideal for businesses with a national or international target market and large-scale distribution capabilities It is more cost effective and less time consuming. 5000 Print media advertising Newspapers and magazines are abundant in supply and these will create greater exposure and better and frequent advertisement. Compared to other media advertisements, print ads are less intrusive. Passive processes such as listening to radio and watching television may or may not compel attention. Whereas a person makes a concious decision to engage to the images and words of a newspaper 15000 Mail out It is highly measureable which helps companies to measure the result of advertising campaigns. It is more tangible than other forms of advertising. 4000 Social media campaign It is the most cost effective way to promote a brand or a product and spread its advertisement through the internet or media. The amount of information that can be provided is much greater than in any other form of communication. One of the defining characteristics of socal media advertising is interactivity. We will have official accounts on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, youtube and our own forum for consultation. We aim to monitor social networks and answer customer queries. This will also allow us to have an understanding of our state in the market. Information and analyses from these networks will be sent to our management team so that we can improve our services continually. NA Sales distribution channels Channel type Percentage of sales (%) Advantages Disadvantages Internet 75 Greater degree of freedom for customers. Supplier saves time and cost of distribution of their products. They are also able to interact in a massively growing market. Automatic marketing sales and delivery makes the marketing a lot easier and quicker. Online sales also allow instant feedback on new changes. The marketing costs are relatively lower and better targeting. Promotional strategies can be specifically aimed at potential customers. The internet allows impersonal interaction between seller and the buyer since not enough communication. Online fraud can happen which means loss of money for both the consumer and the producer. When the website goes down, company loses out on payment transactions which means less profit for the company. It is not always easy to have a team of staff who are efficient enough to manage the website. Wholesale 15 Since products are bought in bulk and at a cheaper rate there is higher profit margin. It requires a large amount of money buying wholesale products. Since manufacturers require minimum order quantity in order for you to take advantage of the wholesale price, you need to shell out a large amount of capital. Shop front 10 (initially) We will start off with a store in Sydney and keep expanding. 3D printing concept is still quite new and allowing our customer to have a first hand experience of how the process works will do wonders. Design engineers will be present from time to time to also conduct talks on the layout generation process. The cost side of this attempt is a drawback. We do not expect to generate enough sales through this channel to make it profitable initially. However we believe that starting up a business with a shop front will be profitable in the long run.

What Is Security Dilemma Politics Essay

What Is Security Dilemma Politics Essay There are a number of security dilemmas currently working in Asia. This security conflict is driven by the competitions between pairs of countries different in their capabilities. Here, Pakistan views India as its primary threat, which in turn views China as its principal security concern. China on the other hand regards the United States as a challenger to its dominance in Asia and the United States is trying its best to maintain its hegemony and the consequent status quo. The unequal relationships in Asia have the ability to thwart global arms control and non-proliferation efforts.  [1]  They also have the deadly potential to fuel a dramatic expansion of ballistic missile and nuclear proliferation throughout the region.  [2]  Scholars gathered at a Russian think tank known as Institute of World Economy and International Relations (Imemo), which advises Kremlin, talked about the threat of nuclear war in South Asia being greater than anywhere else in the world today.  [3]   What is Security? National security has figured prominently in academic and political discussions of foreign policy and international politics since the end of World War II. Richard Ullman defines threat to national security as an action or sequence of events that threatens drastically so as to degrade the quality of life for inhabitants of a state or threatens significantly to narrow the range of policy choices of a state. The term security in International Relations has conventionally been defined to mean protection of a state or nation to threats emanating from within as well as outside its boundaries. According to Walter Lippmann, a nation is secure to the extent to which it is not in danger of having to sacrifice core values, if it wishes to avoid war, and is able, if challenged, to maintain them by such victory in such a war.  [4]  The security of a nation rises and falls with its ability to deter such attacks on its sovereignty and territory. The Western nations and the Euro-centric view of International Relations has largely identified this position with the Realist school of thought that focuses mainly on acquiring more power in the anarchic system. Scholars from the Realist school of thought have always argued that states are self-interested, power-seeking rational actors, who seek to maximize their security and chances of survival. In their view even if there is cooperation between states it is only to maximize their own security and not for any idealistic reasons. The modern nation-state is the highest form of political order we have so far been able to develop and sustain. It evolved into its present form through the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, needed to secure itself from external threats and keep its territory intact. The history is testimony to the fact that the states in the international system are unable to coexist with each other in harmony and have made each other insecure by their mere existence. Their actions in pursuit of their national security have often resulted in frequent wars when combined with that of others. Thus the concept of security as developed in the early years of security studies post Second World War took State as a unit of analysis. What is Security Dilemma? The states in the international system through their actions try to enhance their security as much as possible. There interactions are primarily responses to what is known as Security Dilemma in the literature on International Relations. It is also known as the Spiral Model. John Herz was the first to coin the term security dilemma in his 1951 book Political Realism and Political Idealism. According to him the states are driven to acquire more and more power in order to escape the impact of the power of others. This, in turn, renders the others more insecure and compels them to prepare for the worst.  [5]  In contrast to other classical realists of the time who focused on human nature as the main difficulty, he based his concept on the anarchic structure of the international system. The security dilemma is the core assumption of Defensive Realism, which believes that due to the anarchic structure of the international system, states focus mainly on their survival through any means making them obsessed with security.  [6]  In International Relations, Defensive Realism is a variant of Structural Realism with famous international relations scholar Kenneth Waltz propagating this notion. Waltz argues that the security dilemma is escapable because the weaker states will try to balance against their rivals and bandwagon with the stronger state in order to gain security in event on an attack by the enemy state. In contrast to this Offensive Realism, another variant of Structural Realism believes that states want to accumulate more power rather than just secure themselves. It points out that if states are able to gain an advantage or an edge, they will readily do so. John Mearsheimer, the strongest proponent of Offensive Realism argues that no state can be sure of other states intentions, which can change over a course of time and use its offensive capabilities.  [7]  He is in agreement with Hans Morgenthau, one of the earliest proponents of Realism in Intern ational Politics, that there is not limit of states desire for power. For Mearsheimer the security dilemma is inescapable, as the anarchic nature of the international system will force states to maximize power and enhance their security because they cannot trust each other. Neorealists and Constructivist schools of thought have also used security dilemma as a concept. Neoliberal scholars argue that one of the functions of international institutions is to alleviate security dilemma.  [8]  Whereas Constructivists assert that alleviating the security dilemma is one of the channels through which reshaping identity can remake anarchy.  [9]   Robert Jervis explains this concept as the notion that increasing a states security causes other states to increase their own security, which in turn decreases the security of the first.  [10]  The system thus coerces the states into taking certain losses to cooperate in order to bring stability and relative security. Yet the inherent desire remains to dominate the political arena through cheating, bargaining and collaborating to hinder cooperation. A security dilemma arises out of the anarchic nature of the International System. Each state has to take responsibility for its own security in the system of self-help for its own survival. Without any government at the international level, the states are left to fend for themselves. This leads to states taking every possible step to expand their capabilities in every sphere, be it economy or military, to defend itself when the time comes. The states in order to secure themselves forget about the security apprehension of the neighbori ng states and compel them to take counter-measures to enhance their security. They begin to prepare for the worst, and this common search for security leaves them more insecure then they were before. A case in example talked about in our class on National Security would be India acquiring nuclear capabilities, which put pressure on Pakistan to get nuclear weapons. The process, which started in 1960s, and 70s has left India more insecure now then ever before as Pakistan has refused to agree with a no first-use policy on nuclear weapons like India. It purportedly has more nuclear warheads than India according to the estimates of many reputed think tanks internationally. Jervis identifies a number of the factors associated with security dilemma that impede states ability to work cooperatively towards a mutually desired goal of general security. He mentions intentions, capabilities, creation of buffer states, indications of aggressive intents and incorrect perception of weapons acquired for defensive purposes. The Security Dilemma in Sino-Indian Relations: The scholars of International Relations agree that there would be a geo-political shift from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. And it can be forcefully argued that China and India will dominate the events of the region as rising powers in the international system. Considering the past shared by these two countries after coming to their own, the chances of a classic case of great power competition are numerous. It can be better understood by studying the first Sino-Indian border conflict and the series of skirmishes between them in 1962. The war was a result of tensions that arose during the 1959 Tibetan uprising and the subsequent asylum given to the Dalai Lama after the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) took control of the territory. India on its part can also be blamed for adopting a Forward Policy intended to demonstrate its control of the disputed areas. Fifty years have now been passed since the Sino-Indian conflict and the perceptions in both the countries about each other still remain highly suspicious. There has been constant tussle over various issues between these two countries ranging from Chinas security ties with countries in the South Asian-Indian Ocean region to Indias growing interest in the South China Sea and areas China considers as its sphere of influence. India with its Look East policy has been seeking for deeper engagements with the countries earlier known as Indochina. China on the other hand has long supported Pakistan, Indias archrival, with its nuclear program and infrastructure development. These two countries have left no stone unturned to rattle each other over their actions, which are skeptically viewed and enlarged by hostile media on both sides. It has become one of the most significant factors for the deep-rooted suspicion between the two Asian giants. In this classic Great Power rivalry, China is trying hard to win by keeping New Delhi occupied within the South Asian region. China considers itself as a global power while wants to keep India as only a regional power limited to South Asia. Indias recent ascent in the international scenario with its billion-plus population and growing economy has raised eyebrows in China. The strategy China has applied is to keep aiding Pakistan in its relations with India, which will keep it occupied in the South Asian region and China can expand in the Indo-Pacific till then. While China has slowly inched towards equidistance between India and Pakistan, it continues to have a pronounced tilt towards Pakistan, which casts an inevitable shadow over the Sino- Indian relationship. Chinas other major patron-client relationship in the region is with Myanmar. This is less threatening from Indias standpoint, since Chinas interest in the relationship is not India- centric, and India for its part is consciou sly seeking to upgrade its own ties with Myanmar with some limited success. The notion of security dilemma throws substantial light on the complex relationship between China and India since the past six decades. Conclusion: As the two powers become more economically interlinked war becomes a secondary or a last resort option for them. The decision-makers in both New Delhi and Beijing are conscious of this fact. A key question that remains is whether India and China will remain satisfied with relatively small strategic forces or whether they will seek to develop large, operationally deployed forces.  [11]  India and China are expected to further spread their Spheres of Influence in the Indo-Pacific region with the US willing to support New Delhi as part of its own forward policy in the region. India has to tackle one of the major problems faced in democratic countries that being more reactive than pro-active hampers the policymaking.  [12]  The reason behind this is that the political class in India is not much familiar to international relations and foreign policy receives very little emphasis in the course of day-to-day politics. Though Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is not a classic profess ional politician, and could even be considered more of a statesman, the tendency to look inward has prevented a more active engagement with the outside world.

The Guitar and Its Effect on My Life Essay -- Papers Personal Narrativ

The Guitar and Its Effect on My Life The time was Christmas morning 2003, the ambience was silent and tranquil; not a sound could be heard. All of a sudden, I was woken from my eternal slumber. With awareness of the significance of the time and event, I leaped out of bed and rushed into the living room where a Christmas tree stood tall. Beneath the tree there lay my precious presents. Rummaging through these random gifts that had been awarded to me, I was disappointed to see that there were few that specifically appealed to me. Yet being the foolish child I was, I had overlooked one of them. In the corner of the room was one unwrapped box; upon it labelled â€Å"Electric Guitar and Amplifier†. Although it had not appeared to be something as momentous at first, little had I known that this object was something that would soon turn out to have a highly significant effect on my life†¦ From that point on, the guitar seemed to turn the tables for me. It was highly unlike any other musical instruments I have ever played before, it had seemed to be something that I had become completely attached and addicted to. In spite of all the offers my father had given to me about guitar lessons, I had intentionally turned them down. As puzzled as my father was to my decision, I explained to him that this was an instrument I wanted to play in the form of an enjoyable activity. Having a guitar teacher would give me consistent blocks of homework on specific set pieces, thus turning practice into a task. I wanted to learn to play this instrument at my own pace and I wanted to learn to play this instrument in a manner that I would regard it as something ... ...sion with practicing the guitar has almost reached the point that my parents have had no choice but to enforce a maximum practice time of 3 hours per day on the guitar. They have also warned me that should my grades drop, my guitar would be the first possession of mine that would be confiscated. This in one sense could also be a good thing considering the fact that it does give me more incentive to achieve higher academic grades. After weighing out the pros and cons, I would definitely say that playing the guitar has had a favourably positive effect both psychologically and physically upon my life. With aid of my guitar I was able to release the stresses of everyday life, learn new ideas about music and make new friends. Of all the greatest gifts that anyone has ever bought me, my guitar is definitely among the top.

Communism :: Communism Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Communism is a very abortive political theory. It has never been in practice in the United States of America. It has usually been placed in practice among very unstable political environments such as Cuba and China. The general consensus on communism is that it’s a very good idea but falls short in practice because people have and always like to make decisions for themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Karl Marx is known as the â€Å"Father† of communism. He is recognized for this because in 1848 he wrote the Communist Manifesto. It is the basis for communism that has and is currently in practice, even though there are many different forms of communism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many communists believe that capitalism encourages the exploitation of the poor by the rich for cheap labor. Another communistic belief is that communism itself encourages workers to organize and to take over the political and economical world. Communists also believe that class privilege and every other vestige of this present system of economic exploitation and military organization and preparation must be eliminated. In order to explain this, you must understand that by class privilege they mean that their should be no poor, and no rich, that everyone gets the same opportunities as the next individual, and that by vestige of economic exploitation of this system of economic exploitation and military organization, they mean that their should be no trace or hint of the working class being exploited by the richer or more powerful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were some very intriguing and thought provoking quotes in the book. One is â€Å"Capitalism did not arise because capitalists stole the land or the workmen’s tools, but because it was more efficient than feudalism. It will perish because it is not merely less efficient than socialism, but because it is self destructive†-J.B.

Recruitment and selection process for Boots Essay

The recruitment and selection process is used to employ new people for the organisation, company or business. The recruitment process can be quite expensive due to the work and staff involved. Money is needed to advertise the position in newspapers, replying to candidates, paying interviewers, and also if candidates are successful then money will be needed to actually train them. In the selection process there are five main areas which are completed – * Job descriptions * Person specifications * Advertising * Selection process * Interviewing Job descriptions A job description is a list of the main tasks required to full fill the position. I have gathered evidence of a job description from Boots. The job description which I have collected states all of the tasks which are required, but in an actual job description only the main tasks will be noted. I have also got a job description from my local job centre but the information given is not enough for what would be required by an applicant. The description does not show the days which will be worked or even the type of work which will be required. More and more organisations like Boots, Marks and Spencer and Tescos have job descriptions for every job, from a Cleaner to a Managing Director. There are three main ways in which a job description can be drawn up by the personnel department. These are – * Line manager can draw up a job description of what the job entails. * Actual existing job holder can do it. * Human resources manager can interview the job holder and the line manager to find out what the job involves. The best approach out of these three options would be to interview the line manager and the job holder because the line manager may miss out little things which may be included in the job and the job holder will be able to give more information. A job description also gives the applicants other details of the job which are necessary such as- * Actual job title * Location of the job * Duration and hours required * Main tasks required * Pay and other benefits * Person to contact and place to apply.

Explain why the duke of Wellington’s government fell from power in 1830? Essay

The fall of duke Wellington’s government in November 1830 is regarded as one of the most important turning point and a very pivotal moment in British history. So decisive and seemingly unexpected, was the downward turn in the duke’s political fortune and his government, meant is was caused by an array of reasons. From the standpoint of the 2 major parties, the political stature of Britain was quite weak. As a result of arguments and internal splits within the government, the tory party for the first time in many years had become apart of the minority. The small liberal wing of the tory party, the canningities had left in 1828 after a series of disagreements with the Wellington, whereas the Ultra’s, who were loyal to Wellington and Peel, left the Tory party mainly because the of the passing of catholic emancipation in 1829. Another issue that caused the disintegration of Wellington’s Tory party was not only just catholic emancipation, but also the fact that the duke and peel had to announce it. The Act of C.E was passed in April 1829, with a total of 173 Tory MPs against it. The ultra Tories believed that Catholic emancipation was an assault on the British Constitution, Although many Tories sympathised with Peel, they hated Wellington for falling to catholic pressure and judged him as misguided, or even two faced because he had always been a opponent to Catholic Emancipation. There was also widespread opposition in the country at large, because many in many cities like Liverpool and Manchester, there were many immigrants. This not only fractured Wellington’s capability as leader, but his government as well because the Tory party was now split 3 ways: the canningities soon to be allied with the Whigs, and also the separate faction of ultra’s who felt betrayed by Wellington. But one of the key factors that essentially solidified end of the Wellington’s government, was the speech that he read out in the New parliament meeting of November 1830. In trying to win support from the ultras, he made a speech in which he said he saw no need to consider and change in the current parliamentary system, an opinion rarely shared by other, This can be argued as one of the worst political â€Å"own goals† in British History as he clearly missed the mood of the moment, as there was genuinely a big concern over parliamentary reform. Wellington’s argument seemed entirely wrong almost to the point of stupidity as there was immense support towards parliamentary reform from both inside and outside parliament. Another issue that pushed Wellington’s government to the brink, was the ever growing power of the Whig party. The Whigs were now pushing for parliamentary reform and they were now more stronger and more confident. They had support of the canningites, who were experienced in parliament and the support of the new King William IV, they had a monarch who was not opposed to them like King George the IV had been. Some ultra tories who felt betrayed by Peel and Wellington united with the Whigs and Canningities to defeat the government. By 1827- 30, the divisions within the Wellington’s government had become to severe, the various arguments between factions limited it’s political aims and capability. The Whigs had a big part to play in further fracturing Wellington’s government through it’s alliances with the canningities and the ultras, so inevitably had a big part to play in the demise off Wellington’s government. How close to revolution did Britain come in 1830-32? A revolution can be defined as a drastic and far reaching change in a country’s way of thinking and behaviour. It is usually due to the fact that political change fails to respond to social or economic distress. In Britain, The growing pressure to change an unrepresentative electoral system was strengthened by the deteriorating economy. Against a backdrop of poor harvests, rising rates of unemployment and revival of radical demands for reform – it could argued that at face value, Britain extremely close to revolution from the years of 1830 to 1832. An issue that helped in pushing Britain to the brink of revolution was the crisis caused by the harvest failure, high prices and unemployment. These were some of the many issues which cause unrest within the countryside, as their was protests ranging from the destruction of machinery to the burning of corn. So the swing riots of 1830-1831 had begun. The significance of the agricultural disaster of 1830 and the swing riots, is that is can be argued as one of the initial steps which caused the rebellious and revolutionary attitudes of the people of Britain to grow. A crucial issue that almost caused a revolutionary climate in Britain between 1830-32 was the issue of parliamentary reform. Although changes had been made, like redistributing seats to more industrially centred places like Manchester and Leeds, so giving the middle class factory owners more political power and significance, the fact remained that house of Lords and the government as a whole, was still saturated with Aristocracy. The public were being let down and felt that the house of lords was clearly out of touch with the working and middle classes’ wishes, and example of this was the rejection of the second reform bill by the Lords in 1831, which caused widespread anger throughout the country. Although many groups and coalitions were formed to support the great reform act, one of the most notable political societies’ was the Birmingham Political union. The need for change, and so revolution can be clearly seen in formation of this union, as a crowd of over 15,000 arrived on it’s first meeting. It was inspired by the works of the Catholic Association in attracting mass membership and being well organised, without any form of violence. To gain support, The BPU’s polices were mainly targeted at middle and working classes, but there were other important coalitions like the MPU (Metropolitan Political Union) which was dominated by artisans and craftsman, who had be radicals in the years of 1819. Ultimately, the union of these various craftsmen, businessmen, lawyers and workers increased the tensions and sense of uneasiness with the government, so once again spurs the idea that Britain was edging closer to revolution. As well as pressure from the BPU, Francis Plaice made London the central place of opposition of the Lords, but not the Whigs. Whereas elsewhere by 1832, there were cases of violent protests which appeared throughout the country. Riots spread from the small rural areas to the large industrial towns, as the tensions concerning reforms increased drastically. One extreme case of rioting was in Bristol, when a violent mob burned down almost all of there town centre. All these different forms of protest suggest that, revolutionary circumstances like the overthrowing of Charles X in France or the demolition of Tsar in Russia, was rapidly becoming an inevitability in Britain. Arguably the only thing that prevented full scale revolution was the desire of the Whig party and there newly elected leader lord grey’s partial support towards reform, and efforts in turning violent protests into † safe and legitimate reform.† However there were major political issues that suggested that, Britain wouldn’t have a revolution just yet, unlike it’s neighbour France. Since the late 1770’s the Lord grey had handled issues over parliamentary reform, but in 1831 he finally got his moment. Although the Whigs only partially supported the idea of parliamentary reform, Earl grey was enough of a politician to realise that in the defeat of the first 2 bills and public disturbances, some change will be needed to mediate the situation. A quote for Grey states that † The principle of my reform is to prevent the need for revolution†. Grey was very aware of the public’s opinion and knew that situation would only get worse if they were inhibited any form of change. Grey motives were clear from the start as his idea of â€Å"reforming to change† was faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade to stop Britain becoming a democratic country, and so helped prevent a revolution. Although the Whig party still headed for aristocracy and believed that the amount of property was the basis for representation, the small amount of change or daresay â€Å"reform† allowed them stop further rebellions and prevent Britain disintegrating, and also helped the poor and working classes. Redistribution was vital in preventing the working classes from rebelling, as they could take seats from seemly useless places like Old Sarum and Dunich to newly industrialising cities. The Whigs wanted to protect aristocracy, but firmly believed that to strengthen the constitution they had to give the franchise to people with new forms of property and intelligence, which meant that middle class factory owners could now sit as an MP and vote. There were other changes which allowed the Whigs to control the situation with the public, and so prevent a revolution, this included 31 small boroughs losing half their Mps and also mean that boroughs of less than 2000 votes were totally disfra nchised. Britain was going through bleak times with a deteriorating economy and unemployment rate, and prominent cases of radicalism and violence. The public were being let down and felt that the house of lords was clearly out of touch with the working and middle classes’ wishes: all these factors contributed to the urgent need of political reform, suggesting that to a certain extent that revolution was quite close, if the situation was left not dealt with any longer it probably would have occurred. However It must be said that Grey was speaking the truth when he said the bill was an aristocratic measure that was introduced to prevent the need for revolution. He was very clever in his methods of introducing a small amount of change to delay revolution, and restore order to Britain. Ultimately, aspects of the Whig party ensured that revolution could occur, on the face of it, it shows that they changed the political map forever, but in truth it was a limited, but clever change to preserve there current constitution. So in conclusion, I must say that although to a certain extent Britain had come close to a revolution, but the actions of grey and his Whig party in preventing revolution, meant that that to a slightly further extent Britain had not come close to a revolution.

Academic Skills Plus Essay

Atwood writes: â€Å"What I mean by ‘science fiction’ is those books that descend from H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, which treats of an invasion by tentacled, blood-sucking Martians shot to Earth in metal canisters – things that could not possibly happen – whereas, for me, â€Å"speculative fiction† means plots that descend from Jules Verne’s books about submarines and balloon travel and such – things that really could happen but just hadn’t completely happened when the authors wrote the books. I would place my own books in this second category: no Martians.† (From In other worlds, p.6) With these remarks in mind, is it useful to distinguish between science fiction and speculative fiction? In answering this question you might consider Le Guin’s suggestion that people who refer to their works as ‘speculative fiction’ rather than ‘science fiction’ are simply trying to protect themselves from some of the negative connotations associated with science fiction (see In other worlds)? Discuss in relation to at least two works. ‘Science fiction’ is often defined as a wide literary genre related to fictional stories. It contains many subgenres, such as space opera, cyberpunk, utopia, dystopia, alternative histories and speculative fiction. Although there are an extensive number of subgenres, some writers, as Margaret Atwood, have been trying to differentiate ‘speculative fiction’ from ‘science fiction’. Maybe this wideness of subgenres existing under the genre ‘science fiction’ is exactly the reason why Atwood found interesting to present this differentiation. When we consider science fiction stories, many different things can came up to our mind, such as aliens, intergalactic travel, artificial intelligence and utopian (or dystopian) societies. Considering that, as we can notice in these examples, these topics can differ a lot from each other and it might be understandable that Atwood  wanted to differentiate (more than just defining different subgenres) the kind of fiction related to more ‘plausible’ things (things that could really happen, as she says). Definitely, ‘speculative fiction’ books have a completely different scenario from cyberpunk, aliens or space opera works and this could awake a desire to disconnect them in a more significantly manner. However, it is possible to affirm that this distinction between ‘science’ and ‘speculative fiction’ is not useful and that there is no reason for making it, especially considering that speculative fiction is just one more subgenre of science fiction. This thesis will be supported by a number of points presented throughout this essay. Firstly, it will be argued that the subgenre ‘speculative fiction’ fits perfectly into the definitions and requisites related to ‘science fiction’. Secondly, it will be discussed that Atwood’s definition of ‘speculative fiction’ is vague and can change according to interpretation, and also that it can be used to define as speculative fiction other books that she clearly had classified as belonging to ‘science fiction’. Thereby, her definition can be seen as not clear, which makes it not useful at all. Finally, it will be presented that Atwood seems to reinforce this division specially because distinguishing ‘speculative fiction’ from ‘science fiction’ is convenient for her. There are some evidences for that, for example, Le Guin once said Atwood was trying to protect herself from negative connotations associated with ‘science fiction’. This is even noticeable considering that many of her attempts to define the genre contained irony and clichà ©s. Firstly, it will be discussed that ‘speculative fiction’ fits perfectly into the definitions and requisites related to the ‘science fiction’ subgenres, which makes unnecessary and not useful the distinction between them. It was stated before that ‘science fiction’ has a big number of subgenres and it is clear that they differ considerably from each other. However, despite their singularities, all of them have one kind of cohesive element in common, which brings each subgenre to be defined as part of the genre ‘science fiction’. To define this common element noticed in all the science fiction subgenres, it is useful to consider two Suvin’s definitions about science fiction: â€Å"SF is, then, a literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition,  and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the author’s empirical environme nt† (Suvin 1979, p. 7) and â€Å"Science Fiction is distinguished by the narrative dominance or hegemony of a fictional ‘novum’ (novelty, innovation) validated by cognitive logic† (Suvin 1979, p. 63). Considering these two definitions, it is possible to affirm then that the necessary and sufficient conditions to identify one science fiction work are: the presence of a ‘novum’ and the presence of a ‘cognitive logic’, the logical consistency which makes the ‘novum’ become part of our knowledge about real things. With this in mind, we can analyse the book The Handmaid’s Tale from Atwood. She clearly have classified this book as not being ‘science fiction’, however, it is easy to identify the ‘novum’ and also the ‘cognitive logic’ in her book. The ‘novum’ is represented by the whole system of political organization in the Republic of Gilead described on the book and the ‘cognitive logic’ is given by some similarities that can be noticed between our society and the society described on the book. In the same way, for the book of H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, we can also identify the ‘novum’, which is given by the Martians and their technology; and the ‘cognitive logic’, given by the similarities existing between both societies. Thus, it can be affirmed that both books The Handmaid’s Tale and The War of the World belongs to the genre ‘science fiction’, contradicting Atwood’s previous proposition. This proves that although Atwood’s book can be classified as ‘speculative fiction’, it truly belongs to ‘science fiction’, leading us to verify again that ‘speculative fiction’ is just one more subgenre of ‘science fiction’. It makes clear then that the division between ‘science’ and ‘speculative’ fiction is not useful and not justifiable. Secondly, it will be presented that Atwood’s definition of ‘speculative fiction’ is imprecise and also can be used to define as speculative fiction other books that were categorized as ‘science fiction’ by her. In order to illustrate these points, we will analyse Atwood (2011) definition about ‘speculative fiction’ as â€Å"things that really could happen but just hadn’t completely happened when the authors wrote the books.† This is a vague and inaccurate idea. It could encompass different definitions because the range of things that could really happen is highly dependent of each person’s  beliefs and ideas, what makes this definition extremely subjective. Also, with just a few exceptions, it is not possible to say for sure what is and what is not going to happen. Besides, Atwood even gives us another definition: â€Å"Oryx and Crake is not science fiction. Science fiction is when you have chemicals and rockets.† (Watts 2003, p. 3). Considering both definitions given by her, it could be understood that she considers rockets and chemicals as things that really could not happen, as they belong to science fiction. However, it is known that rockets and chemicals are not things impossible to happen, especially because nowadays we can see some examples of them. Both definitions become contradictory then. Considering her first definition, books about this theme would be classified as speculative fiction; however, she decided to use these two themes to exemplify ‘science fiction’. Atwood’s definitions about ‘speculative fiction’ are imprecise, therefore, what is the purpose in using an imprecise and cloudy definition? It is simply not useful to distinguish ‘science’ from ‘speculative fictionâ €™ then. Thirdly, it will be presented that Atwood seems to reinforce this division specially because distinguishing ‘speculative fiction’ from ‘science fiction’ is convenient for her. Le Guin (2009) states that Atwood was trying to protect herself from negative connotations associated with science fiction and also â€Å"from being relegated to a genre still shunned by hidebound readers, reviewers and prize-awarders†. Considering Le Guin’s remarks, it is possible to observe that ‘science fiction’ was not a literary genre with considerable prestige in the intellectual audience. This could reduce her reputation on the high literary society. One possible reason for ‘science fiction’ being underestimated is that science fiction could be related to some works produced for mass audience like Star Trek and Dr Who and intellectuals would associate her books to these works. Then it would be interesting for her to dissociate the connecti on between her books and the genre ‘science fiction’ once it was not so appreciated by the intellectual audience. And this is also noticed by considering that some of her remarks about ‘science fiction’ contains irony, as she frequently uses clichà ©s to refer about it, such as ‘rockets’, ‘chemicals’, ‘blood-sucking Martians’, ‘talking squids in outer space’, and ‘skin-tight clothing’. Thus, it is possible to verify why Atwood reinforces the division between ‘speculative’ and ‘science’ fiction. And  considering her reasons we can see that they are not justifiable and strong enough to make the distinction between ‘speculative’ and ‘science fiction’ useful. Finally, this essay discussed a number of points in order to support the thesis that the distinction between ‘speculative’ and ‘science’ fiction is not useful. Firstly, it was stated that although it may be hard to define some literary genres it is noticeable that ‘speculative ficti on’ fits perfectly in most of definitions of science fiction, making it a subgenre only. Secondly, it was presented that Atwood’s definition about ‘speculative fiction’ is vague and could classify as ‘speculative fiction’ some books that she clearly classified as ‘science fiction’. Thirdly, it was discussed that is convenient for her to separate ‘speculative fiction’ from ‘science fiction’ since the genre of ‘science fiction’ was not so appreciated by reviewers and prize awarders and was associated to some mass audience works. She does not want to be linked to this image so she tries to put her works under a different literary classification. This point shows us clearly that there is no consistent and general reason for her to do the distinction. In conclusion, this essay illustrated that is not useful to distinguish between ‘science fiction’ and ‘speculative fiction’ and the reason for this was explained by all of the arguments stated previously. References Atwood, M 1985, The Handmaid’s Tale, Anchor Books, New York. Atwood, M 2011, In Other Worlds – SF and the Human Imagination, Doubleday. Le Guin, U 2009, ‘The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood’, The Guardian, 29 August. Available at http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/29/margaret-atwood-year-of-flood Suvin, D 1979, Metamorphoses Of Science Fiction, Yale University Press, New Haven Watts, P 2003, ‘Margaret Atwood and the Hierarchy of Contempt’, On Spec, vol. 15, no. 2, summer, pp. 3-5. Wells, H 1898, The War of the World, New York Review Books, New York.